Kaneland can't solve DeKalb

Friday night's critical Northern Illinois Big 12 East matchup between Kaneland and DeKalb was touted as a big play showdown, and it definitely lived up to its billing.

The two teams traded explosive plays for the better part of three quarters with DeKalb holding a 28-21 advantage.

From that point, the host Barbs ripped off a pair of touchdowns in a 5-minute span to pull away for a 45-28 victory and seize command of the conference race.

Kaneland quarterback Jake Marczuk connected on his first 10 passes and finished 19-for-24 for 262 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a pair of scores.

However, the Knights never found a way to contain a versatile DeKalb attack that generated 495 yards of offense, paced by 212 yards rushing and two touchdowns from senior David Long and 178 yards and two scores through the air from Derek Kyler.

"That's the best that I've seen DeKalb. They have a lot of weapons and all of them were a part of the win," credited Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly. "We competed, but some things kind of happened to us in the second half."

"This is a huge win because it's against a great team in Kaneland," said DeKalb coach Matt Weckler.

The game started out perfectly for the Knights (3-2, 1-1) as they needed just 1:32 and five plays to march 80 yards for a score.

Isaiah Baerenklau hauled in a 22-yard reception, followed by a 36-yard touchdown on an inside screen to Tanner Robertsen.

DeKalb (4-1, 2-0) quickly answered as Long bolted 39 yards for a score on a draw play, then Barbs' quarterback Derek Kyler raced in from 27 yards for a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter after Kaneland came up short on a 4th-and-1 from the DeKalb 34.

Kaneland evened the score with an impressive 79-yard drive, featuring Robertsen's 44-yard reception and Marczuk's 3-yard touchdown run.

DeKalb took a 21-14 lead into halftime thanks to a 43-yard touchdown strike from Kyler to Tony Tate with just 29 seconds remaining.

The Barbs converted a pair of fourth downs on the opening drive of the second half and scored on a 3rd-and-20 when 6-foot-7 tight end Luke Davis III won a jump ball in the end zone from 31 yards out.

"For us to get a cushion against a team that I was really worried about being able to score fast gave us more confidence and gave our defense the opportunity to do more stuff," Weckler said.

"That was big and they got some of the momentum there, but we answered and were still in the game with a lot of game left to be played," Fedderly said.

Marczuk brought the Knights back within 28-21 with 2:46 left in the third, scoring untouched on a 18-yard zone read keeper.

DeKalb needed just 1:42 to move back in front 35-21 on Long's 23 yard TD run, then essentially put the game out of reach when Tate cut across the field on a nifty 26-yard touchdown run on the Barbs' next possession.

Mitchel Groen added a 21-yard touchdown reception for Kaneland to cap the scoring.

"We did some good things, so we're going to take a look at it and try to regroup for a big game against Sycamore next week," Fedderly said.